LatinNews Daily - 25 September 2026

*Colombia’s state oil company Ecopetrol’s board of directors has appointed Joaquín Gutiérrez as the company’s new president, amid an overhaul of the company’s executive board. Gutiérrez replaces Ricardo Roa who headed the company from 2023-2026 and stood down in May over an influence peddling scandal. Gutiérrez, who is a business administrator by profession, with experience in telecommunications, telecommunications law, and management of health services, is a close ally of the country’s new far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella, and served as the head of his campaign team, on multiple local media reports. His appointment follows that of Carlos Suárez as chairman of Ecopetrol’s board of directors on 17 September, who also worked on De la Espriella’s campaign as a strategist, and also has no experience in the hydrocarbon sector, according to media reports.